


Birth by Darkness

by QueenofDarkness13



Series: KH: Goddess of Darkness [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 11:05:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14747648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenofDarkness13/pseuds/QueenofDarkness13
Summary: Mina is a 6yr old girl living with her adopted family in the Land of Departure. Found abandoned on the castle steps, the Keyblade Masters raised her, but soon darkness threatened their home and a journey began. Follow Mina as her journey begins where the Kingdom Hearts legacy started. sucky summary, sorry. Some TerraxAqua. mild violence and kidnapping.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This will be my first story to post on this sight and I hope you like it. For this story and the series to follow it will be 90% canon. Vanitas will be slightly different but that is because of Mina's influence on him to try to be a better person of his own. If you don't like this version then please don't hate on it, but I am willing to take suggestions for future chapters or even beta readers. Enjoy!

In the quiet world known as the Land-of-Departure, a peaceful silence crept over landscape as the stars glowed in the night sky. The darkened castle was quiet and its occupants fast asleep…well somewhat. In a small room towards the East end of the castle, a small figure stirred restlessly in her twin-sized bed. The tiny body suddenly shot up with a small, but quiet scream; her breaths came quick and frightened, a small sheen of sweat covered her lightly tanned skin. 5yr old Mina looked around her room, noting it was the same lavender colored walls and soft white carpet. She was small for her age, but she made up that with her knowledge of things that were taught to her.

Her dark, cinnamon brown hair fell a little past her shoulders in uneven spikes, her bangs almost covering her eyes; one unique feature that made her both adorable and mysterious was her eyes: they were a bright jeweled amethyst. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, she climbed off her bed, which was about a one-foot drop for her, and straightened her light blue nightgown which fell to her ankles.

"Come Cookie," she whispered picking up stuffed purple pony, "let's go see if we can find someone who's up."

She opened the large tan door of her room and walked into the dark hallway; the only source of light coming from the moon and stars through the windows. She walked for a minute, her bare feet quietly echoing off the polished tiled floors, and reached for the first door on her left.

This lead to the room of her adopted father, Terra; although he wasn't technically her father, she had been calling him by that title since she first started to talk. Appearance wise, she actually could be his biological daughter since they had the same hair and skin color. She was maybe half a foot from the door when she could hear a distinguishable droning sound coming from inside the room, indicating that he was out cold. She and Ventus would tease him saying he sounded like a foghorn when he slept.

Knowing she wouldn't get any sleep there she moved on to the next door about 10yds away. She quietly walked up to the door, but found it locked. This room belonged to Aqua, Mina's "adopted mother", the situation similar as Terra's, but she had the same kindness and personality as the bluenette. Aqua had probably been up training again for the upcoming Mark of Mastery Exam and forgot to unlock her room again.

Mina sighed and moved on once again; reaching the third door, she was surprised to find a light still on in the room. She reached for the handle and turned it, pushing the door open carefully. This room belonged to her big brother, Ventus. When he wasn't training with the other two, he would always look after Mina and play with her when she bored or done studying with Master Eraqus whom she called Grandpa. Mina walked in the room, but found the bed empty and looked around and finally found the said blonde unconscious in his desk chair with the lamp shining in the corner. She guessed that he had been up late reading some old dusty book from the back of the castle's library.

Walking up to the sleeping blonde, she found his head resting flat against the book, a light snore coming from.

"Venny," she whispered, tugging on the sleeve of his night shirt.

When that didn't work, she placed Cookie on the desk so it was in his face and poked him in the side a couple times where she knew he was ticklish. After a minute, a pair of bright blue eyes opened sleepily. Of course, finding some purple face only an inch from his caused him to jump back in his chair, and fall backwards with a heavy thump. Luckily the rug under his chair deafened the fall so as not to wake the others.

"Who? What?!," the startled blonde exclaimed breathing heavily.

After collecting his thoughts, he finally saw what had startled him and turned to the little brunette standing next to the desk.

"Mina? What are doing here," he asked slowly getting up and straightening his chair before kneeling in front of her, "I thought you were asleep. At least, you were an hour after Aqua put you to bed."

"I was, but…I had a really scary dream big brother," she answered, tugging on her hair nervously, a habit she had formed when her dreams were really bad.

"You wanna tell me what happened," Ven asked as he sat his 'little sister' in his lap and handing her the stuffed pony.

"Everything was dark and quiet…you and mommy and daddy were separated and grandpa was gone and I was alone and I didn't know what happened," she said, tears threatening to escape from her eyes.

"Hey, it was only a bad dream," he whispered soothingly, gently brushing the tears away with his thumb, "nothing bad will happen okay?"

Mina looked up at her brother, giving him a small smile, soon followed by a soft yawn. The blonde Keyblade Master chuckled and carried the little girl back to her room; he tucked her under the white and purple comforter making sure to put Cookie right next to her.

"Venny," she whispered as he brushed her bangs from her face.

"Yeah Mimi," he answered calling her by the nickname he gave her a couple years ago.

"You promise nothing will separate our family," she asked still slightly nervous.

"Yeah, I promise, cause everyone here will protect each other and never abandon us," he smiled placing a small kiss on her head.

Waiting till he was sure she was sound asleep, Ventus walked back to his room, and sat back at his desk. What Mina had told him bothered him; 'why would she have such a horrible nightmare like that?' he asked himself. Turning off the light, he got in his own bed knowing he would talk to Terra and Aqua about it in the morning. After maybe twenty minutes, sleep soon took hold of the young teen and closed his eyes to the darkness of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chptr for those who are following. i will let you know now that updates will be determined when i have free time or internet access. thank you!

A few hours later, Ven woke up to the sun shining in his window, blinding him slightly. He sat up stretching and letting out a long yawn.

"Man, I gotta stop reading so late," he said to himself.

The memory of last night came to him, putting his mind deep in thought at what his little sister had told him.

'I still wonder what could've caused her to dream something like that.'

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the knock on his door, and only snapped out of his trance when something flicked the side of his head.

"Geez Ven, I know it's early but you've been sitting like that for almost five minutes," chuckled a baritone voice.

The said blonde looked up to his best friend and fellow keyblade master, Terra; he was dressed from his usual training attire and wore a fitting grey T-shirt and wore out jeans. His brown hair was still wet from his shower and his blue eyes shined in the morning light.

"Very funny Terra," Ven replied climbing out of his bed.

Today was one of the rare days they didn't have training cause it was Mina's birthday, so they were excused from it today. The two of them were going to decorate the main hall while Aqua was tasked with the cooking. Ven came out of his adjoined bathroom dressed in a black hoodie and torn jeans.

"Is Aqua up already," he asked as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, she said that Mina was up when she went to check on her," Terra said stretching his arms above his head, "so she took her to the kitchen to start making breakfast."

"I still can't believe she's turning 6 today," Ventus stated in disbelief.

When Ventus first came to live in this world, Mina was barely two years old and very shy around the blonde at first; but after a few months, the little toddler would follow him around the castle almost every day. She was actually the first person to get Ven out of his gloomy secluded stupor and he adored her like she was his little sister.

They soon reached the kitchen and walked in, the smell of cooked eggs and pancakes wafted through the open door, initially making both the teens stomachs growl hungrily.

"Sounds like you two are finally up."

Standing next to the oven was their other friend Aqua; she wore a white bandana over her short blue hair to avoid getting flour in it. She had on a simple light blue tee with a blue skort that fell just above her knees. She was also wearing a white apron that had flour and some grease on it.

"You're hilarious Aqua," both boys said sarcastically as they sat the kitchen island in the middle of the room.

"Isn't Mina here," Terra asked.

"She was, but I think she went to find the Master," the bluenette answered setting two plates before them.

"Did she say anything about last night," Ven asked curiously.

"No, why did something happened," Aqua asked worriedly as she set down the bowl of batter.

Ventus told them both what happened, including what Mina had told him that happened in her dream. There was a moments silence and the elder keybladers shared a glance both filled with concern and worry.

"Did she say anything else," Terra asked fully concerned.

"No, but she seemed really scared by it," Ven replied.

"We should ask Master Eraqus about this," Aqua suggested, and the other two agreed.

Meanwhile the said birthday girl was out walking in the gardens looking for her grandpa, knowing he always took this path on his morning walks. Her white dress fluttered in the soft breeze that made the grass and flowers seem like they were waving at her. She came around a corner and found a figure sitting on a stone bench, seemingly meditating.

"Found you Grandpa," she cheered excitedly running over to him.

Master Eraqus looked over at the young girl and chuckled heartily; he waited for Mina to stop next to him before picking her up in his arms, making her laugh more.

"And what brings the birthday girl out here hmmm," he inquired smiling at her.

"I came to find you," she said smiling brightly, "Mommy's almost done making breakfast!"

"Then lets head back then shall we," he suggested setting her down, but still held her small hand in his calloused tanned one.

They decided to take a longer path as to enjoy the morning sun a bit longer.

"Tell me Mina, do you still see Ami," Eraqus asked.

"Sometimes, but only if I'm alone," she answered honestly.

Mina had an 'imaginary friend' whom she called Ami; her grandpa was the first to know about it. She had started seeing her friend after she had gotten over a severe fever she had when she was three and a half. The fever had lasted about two weeks which had the three Keyblade apprentices worried sick, but Master Eraqus seemed to have found something that healed her completely. A few days later was when she started seeing this "Ami" girl. Mina had said she looked like her but had really dark tanned skin and milky white hair, but her eyes were sort of a crimson color.

"How about we talk more after your party tonight," Eraqus suggested as they headed through the main doors.

"Okay," she agreed with a smile.

They walked through the kitchen doors and were greeted by the other three. The day went on smoothly; Mina played hide-n-seek with Terra and Ventus while Aqua finished baking and Eraqus informed them that he had to pick up a delivery.

Evening soon came the small "family" celebrated their youngest member's birthday. They first started off with the cake; it was a simple two-layered chocolate cake with "Happy Birthday Mina" written in white icing. Mina took a minute to decide on her wish before blowing out her candles.

"So what'd you wish for Mina," Terra asked taking a sip of water.

"Well I made one wish for each candle, but I'll tell you one of them," she replied with an adorable smile.

"And what's that," Aqua asked.

"For Mommy and Daddy to get married so I could be the flower girl," she answered innocently.

That statement caused Terra to spit out and choke on his water, Aqua to blush a very dark shade of crimson, Eraqus to smirk slightly, and Ventus to fall off his chair in surprise but then break down laughing.

"How about we move on to the presents," Eraqus suggested noticing that Terra and Aqua now couldn't look at each other without blushing.

Terra had given her a miniature, hand-carved keyblade that was similar to one she had told him she liked in a book she found a few weeks ago. Ventus gave her new art supplies because he knew she was wanting to become a great artist when she got older. Aqua said that her present to Mina wasn't finished yet and promised to have it ready soon. Finally, Eraqus handed Mina a small, wrapped parcel; opening it carefully, the excited 6-year old smiled in awe as she revealed a beautifully hand-crafted golden locket on a long golden chain. It was shaped in a heart with a smaller crystal heart set in the center; she tried opening it but found it locked somehow.

"You have to open it a special way," Eraqus explained to her as he placed it around her slim neck, "it's been set with a spell to only open to your voice, you just…have to wish for it."

"Oh. Okay!" Mina smiled and held it in her small, delicate hands, "I wish for you to open…please?"

Upon speaking, the locket opened to reveal a magically, hand-sketched picture of her entire family smiling back at her. Mina squealed happily and jumped on the elder Keyblade Master thanking him repeatedly.

After a couple more hours, Eraqus decided that it was time for the "little ones" to get to bed.

"You heard him Ven, you better get to bed," Terra mocked ruffling his friend's hair which earned him a cake slice smashed in his face, which then lead to a food fight between the two and an annoyed Aqua trying to get them to stop.

Eraqus carried the sleepy girl to her room and helped her into bed after she changed into her pajamas.

"Did you have a good birthday," he asked as he tucked her in.

"I really did grandpa," she smiled tiredly.

"I'm glad sweetie," he said, "can you promise me something?"

After receiving slight nod, he carefully picked up the locket and placed it in her hands and covering them with his.

"Never take off this locket. It was casted with two spells, the second is like a protection spell that will keep you safe and something else, but I will explain it when you are older…understand little Mina?"

The tiny brunette looked at him confused and slightly worried but nodded earnestly and promised never to take it off.

After reading her a story and placing a small kiss on her forehead, Eraqus left Mina's room and walked down the hall in silence thinking to himself.

_'I pray that it really can protect her, for the future is unclear and her powers are slowly but surely growing inside her heart every day.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first few chapters are off canon, so more like a prequel to the starting point of the BBS game. please leave a comment and kudos!


	3. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, there will be some OOC moments that aren't canon in the game but it just how it will play into future chapters and character arcs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new character has appeared!

The next day, Mina woke up really early and decided to go play outside for a bit and watch the sunrise. She put on a pair of white shorts and a light blue tank-top; after slipping on her shoes, she quietly tip-toed down the hall seeing as everyone was still sleeping and walked out the large double doors. A soft morning breeze woke up her sleeping senses, and set an adventurous smile upon her delicate face. Carefully walking down the big stairs, she walked out towards the training fields where she would watch the others practice every day.

 

She looked up at the single hanging ring that was meant as a stationary opponent; looking around, she found a big enough stick and decided to try copying some moves she had seen her big brother do a couple days ago. Holding the stick in her tiny hands, she charged at the ring and managed to hit it, but she forgot it swings and it smacked her on the side of her head and sent her crashing to the ground.

 

“Ouchy,” she mumbled sitting up, and she tried to not cry but her head really hurt.

 

“Talk about pathetic,” a new voice mocked from the shadows.

 

Mina turned and saw a boy leaning against one of the walls of the training field. He had on a black and red body suit and what looked to be a skirt; she couldn’t see his face however, due to the mask he was wearing.

 

“If you can’t handle something like that as you are now, then you’ll be picked off like a weak member of a herd,” he said walking over to her.

 

“Who are you,” she asked, having forgotten the pain as the boy crouched down beside her.

 

“No one important kid,” he said dryly.

 

“I’m not ‘kid’, my name’s Mina,” she retorted in his face.

 

“Heh, you got attitude, I like that,” he chuckled pulling her to her feet, “I guess you can just call me Van.”

 

Mina tilted her head curiously and watched as Van walked to the training ring.

 

“Your form is a little sloppy, but I guess its cause you’re such a tiny punk,” he teased.

 

“Hey, my mommy says I’m growing so I’m not tiny,” Mina huffed stomping her foot to make a point.

 

Van just smirked behind his mask, _‘the old man wanted me to spy on that Ventus kid, but I think it’ll be more fun training this kid to fight better.’_

 

“Let me show you some proper stances Min,” he instructed as he summoned his keyblade.

 

Mina was astonished, seeing as she never knew anyone else who had a keyblade other than her family. She watched with interest as he attacked the ring and then moved onto the moving rings and did different attacks, including magic.

 

“Now you try kid,” he said turning to her and holding out his keyblade.

 

“But…but grandpa said I shouldn’t use one till I’m older,” she said nervously, shuffling her feet.

 

“Then how about we keep this a secret between….friends,” he suggested, placing the key in her tiny hands, “let your body get used to the extra weight and then start with basic movements.”

 

Mina felt a strange surge of power come from the key, and did as she was told. She attempted moving and found it difficult at first but after about twenty minutes, she got used to the key in her hands.

 

_‘Kinda feels natural doesn’t it?’_

 

Mina recognized that voice as Ami’s, and found herself facing her friend in a similar stance.

 

_‘Keep fighting, like your life depended on it’_

Snapping out of her daze, she saw Van kinda staring at her, probably wondering why she was just standing there looking at nothing.

 

“Um…how was that,” she asked.

 

“For a beginner, not bad,” he said taking back his key, “but you’d be terrible in a real fight.”

 

Mina kinda torn between that being a compliment or him teasing her again; a light caught her attention and she saw the sun coming up over the mountain side.

 

“I think it’s time for me to get going now,” Van stated as he too looked over the horizon, and started to walk away.

 

“Wait,” Mina called out catching him by his hand, “can you come and visit again?”

 

Van looked down at her for a sec before crouching down to her height once more. He took off his helmet revealing super spiky black hair and startling golden eyes.

 

“Think you can keep up Min,” he smirked ruffling her hair.

 

“Mhmm, I wanna be strong like everyone else,” she stated excitedly.

 

“Then I guess I better make sure you get a good training,” he said standing up and putting his helmet back on, “next time we’ll start with casting spells first, then move up to defense and offense.”

 

Mina turned hearing a familiar voice calling out to her, but when she turned back, Van had already vanished. She decided to keep the training to herself and ran towards the voice.

 

“Mina? Mina where are you,” Aqua called over again, starting to get worried; she had woken up early and went to check on Mina, only to find her room empty. She looked through the main rooms of the castle, but then noticed the front doors open, which made her worry something, had happened.

 

“Mina?!”

 

“Over here momma,” she heard a small voice call out.

 

Aqua turned and sighed in relief when she saw the six-year old running in her direction. She met the girl halfway, but started to worry when she noticed the girl was covered in grass stains and had a large bump on the side of her head.

 

“What happened to you Mina,” she asked looking over the small injury.

 

“Um…. I was playing around the training field and one the rings hit my head,” Mina replied, keeping most of the truth to herself.

 

“Haven’t we told you not play around there without one of us with you,” Aqua reprimanded sternly but also sounding concerned.

 

“Sorry momma, I just wanted to get strong like you and daddy and Ven,” she admitted looking down at her feet.

 

Aqua smiled softly at the little girl and picked her up in her arms, “you’re already strong for who you are now, you don’t have to prove anything to us.”

 

The little brunette smiled up at her mother, but winced at the pain starting to build against her head.

 

“Let’s get some ice on that for a bit,” the bluenette suggested as she walked back to the castle.

 

For the next couple weeks, Mina would wake up at the same time and met Van on the training fields and practiced magic and fighting, slowly learning, but improving. Then she would hurry back to the castle before the others would wake up and be sitting in the kitchen with a book after washing herself from the training.

 

:3

 

“What’s the Mark of Mastery,” Mina asked one day as she and Ven watched Terra and Aqua train against each other.

 

“Where did you hear about that,” the blonde asked, surprised she even knew about that.

 

“I saw it on Daddy’s calendar yesterday in his room.”

 

“Well…..it’s an important test that Terra and Aqua have been training for their whole lives,” he said trying to explain it simply, “it’ll show if they’ve earned the true title of a Master.”

 

“How come you’re not taking it Venny,” she asked.

 

“I’m still in training myself Mina, but I’ll get there one day,” he smiled at her.

 

“Oh,” was all she responded with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of a filler but gives a little to the story. I know Vanitas is supposed to not care about anyone or anything but I thought i'd give him meaning to see a different side to things if someone saw him for himself and not half of Ventus. kind of like a Roxas situation. don't quote me on that. comment and kudos is appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4: It begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where the BBS story shall start. please remember it is AU so somethings will OOC including some characters. going forward it will be based from Mina's POV but it will flip back and forth between the main characters from time to time.

Mina found herself staring up at ceiling one night unable to fall asleep even after her father had read to her; something in the back of her mind kept bothering her, not to mention the dream kept changing almost every night. Finally fed up with her racing mind she got off her bed and walked down the hall to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Passing by one of the large hall windows, a zipping light shot out of the corner of her eye; when she turned to look another three shot by one after the other.

“Oh wow! Shooting stars,” the small brunette exclaimed in awe.

Wanting to catch a better glimpse she ran to the front doors hoping to see them from the courtyard. Reaching the stair well, she climbed up onto the banister and slid down with a giggle; however just before she reached the end a pair of hands grabbed her, then playfully launched her into the air making her squeal slightly before catching her again and pulled into a pair of familiar arms.

“What do you think you’re doing little missy,” Ventus asked holding the squirming 6yr old, “you’re supposed to be in bed at this hour, not playing around.”

“I couldn’t sleep so I went to get some water but I saw a shooting star outside and wanted to go see it,” she smiled looking up at her brother, “can we please go watch?”

The older blonde was about to say no and that she needed sleep at her age, but the pleading look in her eyes stabbed him right through the heart.

‘I swear she’s a little devil with manipulative abilities,’ he chuckled to himself.

“Alright but just tonight, then its straight back to bed,” he said with a serious tone.

Mina cheered quietly hugging him as best as she could as he started walking outside; when it proved to be too bright in the courtyard she asked if they could go out to the lookout bench past the training fields. When they finally reached their destination, the sky was lit up with multiple stars shooting across the diamond dotted heavens.

The two of them laid back watching the sky for what seemed like hours; the silence sitting comfortably between them.

“Why does it seem so…familiar,” Ven suddenly stated aloud.

“What do you mean Venny,” Mina asked sitting up sounding curious.

“I’m not sure but I feel like I’ve seen this before, with the same sky,” he replied sounding deep in thought.

“But haven’t you always lived here,” she asked confused sitting up.

“Yeah, but it still makes me curious,” he sighed softly, “I’m probably just imagining things…”

She moved closer to her brother to comfort him and curled up against his side; he smiled down at his little sister and pulled her up to lay on his chest instead of the cold ground. After a while he felt himself dozing off and barely noticed Mina doing the same; sometime later Mina woke up and saw that the sky was clear and the show had ended at least some minutes ago. She stretched her small arms and laid back down on the blonde but instead of looking at the sky she found herself staring up at her mother’s smiling face.

Mina shot up in surprise with a yelp causing her to bounce on her brother’s stomach harshly, and waking him up by knocking the wind out of him. Finally catching his breath he turned around seeing the bluenette laughing softly at the pair.

“Give us a break Aqua.” Ven panted setting Mina next to him.

“Ven, you hopeless sleepy head,” She chuckled picking up the small girl who yawned softly, “If you both were going to be out here you could’ve at least brought a blanket.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he chuckled moving onto his knees, “it was kinda unplanned and didn’t expect ‘someone’ to try sneaking out after bedtime.”

Mina knew he meant her and she stuck her tongue out at him, but they all laughed; they then moved to sit along the edge just to look up at the sky some more, Mina would sometimes point out constellations she saw by connecting the stars or even made some up when she couldn’t remember all of them.

“Hey Aqua, what do you think stars are,” Ven asked out of the blue.

The young woman thought for a minute before speaking, “well they say...”

“They say that each star is the heart of a world, shining down on us like a millions lights,” a new voice spoke up making the three of them turn and saw the fourth member of their group walking up.

“Daddy!”

Mina ran over to the taller man and jumped into his arms just as he scooped her up and then held her upside down making her laugh.

“Looks like I caught a tiny trouble maker who broke her curfew,” he said tickling the little girl making her scream with laughter trying to get away.

He finally let her go and set her on her feet, laughing slightly when she stumbled back towards Aqua.

After Mina settled into her lap, they listened to Terra and Ven arguing about how Ven didn’t understand the stars were the hearts of the other worlds which made the bluenette chuckle out loud catching their attention.

“What’s so funny,” Terra asked.

“It’s nothing, but I was just thinking how fitting you two would be as brothers,” she chuckled.

The two boys looked at each other confused before Mina piped up saying, “but I thought that Venny was my brother.”

The three broke into laughs at Mina’s innocent comment, and then the four of them all sat back down watching the stars again.

“Hey mama, isn’t your test mark thing tomorrow,” Mina asked after a bit, looking up at her.

“Oh yes the Mark of Mastery is tomorrow isn’t it Terra,” she smiled turning to the older brunette, “which reminds me I’ve made some thing for us.”

She stood up and pulled something from her pocket, in her hands she held star shaped charms of different colors. As she handed a gold one to Terra and a green one Ven explaining the story behind the charms and that she worked some magic into them. She then handed a light, lavender colored one to Mina,

“Sorry it took so long but happy late birthday Mina.”

Mina smiled in awe at the craftsmanship and hugged her mother, thanking her non-stop; Terra then suggested that they get a few spars in to get ready for tomorrow. Making sure she was a safe distance away, Mina watched the keyblade masters battle against each other using techniques and magic they had learned over the years to prepare for the test.

“I think that’s enough practice for tonight,” Terra said after about 30min as his keyblade vanished.

“Already,” Ventus asked a little disappointed.

The brunette pointed behind the blonde revealing that Mina had fallen asleep some minutes ago; Ven nodded with a chuckle and walked over picking up his little sister to carry her back to the castle. Once they made sure the youngest was tucked safely into her bed, Ven and Aqua headed to their rooms, while Terra stayed with Mina a few minutes more to make sure she was fast asleep.

“Sleep well my little star,” he whispered to her, placing a gentle kiss on her head.

Though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, he really did consider Mina to be a daughter to him ever since he first found her on the castle steps.

 

_FLASHBACK: 6yrs ago_

_14yr old Terra was headed down the long halls of the castle late one evening; he and his new friend and training partner Aqua were up late reading in the library with the master. He was taking a break and headed to the kitchen for a snack; as he was passing by the large castle entrance doors he suddenly heard a timid knocking, like a child’s. He waited another minute and the knocking came again, but a little louder this time; hurrying down the stairwell he hastened to the door. However, when he finally got the door opened and looked about, the only thing that greeted him was a warm evening breeze; he called out for a minute trying to see if maybe the person knocking was still around._

_“Maybe I imagined it,” he said scratching his head as he walked back to the doors, “it is late so I guess I’m just ti-gah!”_

_He crashed to the marbled ground with a loud thud when his foot had caught the edge of something causing him to trip. Rubbing his sore jaw where he had landed on it, he turned to see what caused him to fall; unfortunately he wasn’t expecting to see a small wicker basket sitting by his feet. Curiosity won over after a couple minutes and he kneeled next to it and saw a simple white and lavender blanket with a note on top which read:_

_‘Please take care of Mina. She isn’t safe to be with us right now and we hope that the residents of this world will care for her. Hopefully we will be back to take her to our new home once we find one._

_p.s. she is only a month old’_

_‘A month old? Is it a pet?’ he thought as he as he pulled the blanket back._

_Of course he wasn’t prepared to find a one month old Human baby girl; she seemed to be fast asleep, but she stirred as if she was uncomfortable. Taking a shaky breath, he reached in and picked the small infant up in his arms and made sure to hold her close to keep her warm. When he looked closer at her, he saw that she had similar brown hair to his and pale, tan skin; he looked around again before hurrying back inside with the baby, calling to his teacher. Eraqus and a 12yr old Aqua came running to meet him halfway and were just as stunned as him when he showed them the baby._

_“They just left her,” Aqua gasped after reading the note._

_“They were probably running from something in their world and ended up here,” Terra suggested as the master carefully taking the infant from him to check her, “the castle has a strong aura of protection so they must have thought that she would be safe here. And she would be because the three of us are keyblade masters!”_

_“That ego is going to come back and bite you one day Terra,” Aqua smirked tauntingly._

_“If you both would behave for a moment you’ll avoid waking her up,” Eraqus interrupted trying to quiet them both._

_The two teens instantly shut up, mumbling apologies to their master; at the same the baby started waking up, crying, and making the three of them jump slightly._

_“Do you think she’s hungry,” Terra asked taking hold of her tiny hand._

_“I think she might be,” Eraqus agreed, “she may also need changing. It’s unclear how long she was traveling.”_

_“I can go heat up some milk,” Aqua offered and ran off to the kitchens._

_“Very well, and I shall go find a fresh change of clothes for her,” the master said, “Terra can I trust you to care for her till I return?”_

_“I swear on my life and honor Master Eraqus,” the brunette teen saluted to his elder._

_The master nodded and carefully handed him Mina and headed off to find some baby supplies from a moogle. It was, of course, after the master left that Terra didn’t know how to calm her down; he headed quickly to the kitchens to get help from Aqua._

 

PRESENT TIME:

Terra snapped back from the memory by the sound of a soft whimper; turning his head he saw Mina shaking in her sleep, her face looking panicked. He moved to kneel by her side, gently brushing his fingers through her soft brown hair to calm her; it took a few minutes but she slowly quieted but she still shook slightly.

‘Are her dreams really that horrifying?’ he asked himself.

Debating whether to get the master or not, he finally decided to stay with her; he took off his boots, picked her up and laid on the bed holding her closely to comfort her. For a moment it felt like Déjà vu since he took care of her the first few nights; he soon remembered a song he made up for her when she was a still a toddler and sang softly:

_‘You are our starlight, our little starlight’_

_‘You shine the brightest, no matter how dark’_

_‘You’ll never know dear, how much we love you’_

_‘So please stay strong, our brave little star’_

Mina soon stilled in her sleep as if the nightmares were chased away and fell back into a peaceful sleep, Terra soon following behind with a slight yawn.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning sun rose a few hours later shining softly into the castle rooms; Master Eraqus had come to check on his pupils letting them know the time of the exam. To his surprise though he found three of the four rooms unoccupied, but he had a hunch where they all were; upon enter Mina’s room, he smiled at the sight before him. As it turned out, Aqua and Ventus had gone back to Mina’s room to check on her and ended up falling asleep on the small bed along with the two brunettes. Closing the door quietly he walked back to his study, deciding to let them sleep another hour before waking them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. the song from Terra is one that will reappear in another part of this series so keep an eye out. I thought it would show that Terra does think about his 'family' more than becoming a master. plz leave a comment if you have suggestions or ideas, as i am open to help. but no hating or downgrading the story.


	5. Chapter 5: The test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a take on the Mark of Mastery and Van shows up to Mina again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder this is AU

A couple hours later Terra and Aqua stood before their master focused and ready for the test; Ventus stood on the side smiling proudly at his friends and Mina by his side practically fidgeting with excitement. As Master Eraqus explained the rules of the exam and what they would be tested on, he also introduced a guest who will also look over the exam, an older gentleman named Master Xehanort. Mina glanced at the hunched man curiously, but when he glanced over at her and Ventus she felt an unsettling aura around him. She moved closer to her brother gripping tightly to his hand and clutching her locket trying to find some ease; Ven felt her worry, he followed her line of sight and he too, looked away from Xehanort’s intense gaze.

Soon the test began and her grandpa summoned orbs of light to test their abilities in teamwork and compatibility with strength and magic, but also to withstand the temptation of darkness. Mina glanced at the strange orbs around the room, but when her eyes fell back towards the masters she saw their guest wave his hand in a circle; she didn’t think much of it till she saw the orbs surround themselves in swells of dark energy. She could see the others stunned in shock, but Xehanort just seem to smirk.

‘Did he do it?’ she thought to herself slightly nervous.

Suddenly the orbs started to move of their own accord, attacking both her parents; at first she thought it was just part of the test till a few aimed towards her and Ven.

“Mina! Get behind me and when there’s a space run to the master,” her brother shouted slicing through the orbs.

She had barely heard him as she backed away from the fighting; she kept saying to herself that she had seen something like this before but she couldn’t pin it.

_“Behind you!”_ she her a voice shout in the back of her mind.

She turned just in time to duck before one of the orbs charged her and she ran; she made her way along the edge of the room trying to get away, barely hearing the others calling out to her. She had made it to the other side but another orb cornered her by the railing that overlooked the front entrance of the castle. Her jeweled eyes glazed with fear, her breathing erratic and quick; the orb seemed to stand still for a moment, its spikes moving around aimlessly.

She moved barely an inch before it shot straight at her; she brought up her hand instinctively with a scream and a bright light shined around it blinding her. When the light died she felt an arm around her; looking up she found herself shocked to see it was Master Xehanort who stopped the orb from hurting her. Once the room was cleared he set her down, dismissing his keyblade.

“You’re safe now young one,” he said in a voice that to Mina sounded aged and slightly scratched.

“Um…t-thank you Master Xehanort,” the small girl stuttered bowing slightly.

The old master nodded and walked back to where Master Eraqus stood, who nodded to the other in silent gratitude. Mina watched them both; for some reason she sensed a dark aura around the elder master, one of possible evil intent but she wasn’t too sure. She did, of course, jump with a startled squeak with she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned seeing her family behind her with worry and relief in their eyes. She dashed into Terra’s arms hugging tightly as he whispered softly to her trying to calm her.

“She’s a very strange child Eraqus,” Xehanort spoke quietly to the other master, “I assume you saw it too?”

“Mmm…although I cannot explain how it happened,” Eraqus sighed sitting down on his master throne, “and I know my students. They wouldn’t have given her the ability, nor done the ceremony till I gave my blessing.”

“And yet she summoned a keyblade,” Xehanort continued looking at the four talking, “even if for a brief moment. You think it possible she is a preternatural?”

“I fear that with her abilities she may be, but she would have had to actually handle a keyblade within the last year,” Eraqus sighed in confusion.

“Perhaps for now we should continue with the test and discuss matters at a later time,” the elder suggested.

The master nodded, but confusion and worry weighed heavy on his heart; he called his students back, and informed that they will continue the exam. Mina, however, worried everyone by asking to go back and wait in her room, claiming she wasn’t feeling well and was still shaken by what happened. The masters nodded and she bowed respectfully before leaving the room; as she walked she rubbed at her eyes trying to hold back her tears, but her body was still trembling from the shock.

When she made it to her room and curled up on the bed, that’s when the tears finally sprung free; it was some time before she finally calmed down enough to where she felt another presence in her room and sat up to see Ami sitting by her side. Her white hair was pulled back into a long braid that barely touched the bedding and her eyes held sympathy for her, knowing that she was scared and confused.

“Did that really happen Ami? Did I actually summon one,” she asked her friend.

_‘Yes, but even I’m at a loss as to how,’_ she responded in a calming tone gently playing with Mina’s hair.

“Do you think they’re mad at me,” she asked, “for wielding one at my age?”

_‘I believe they are more worried for your safety,’_ Ami responded, _‘they fear that you will be drawn into battles too young if something were to happen…’_

“So there is a battle coming,” she asked.

“Who are you talking to Min,” a familiar voice broke in.

She turned around onto her other side to find Vanitas leaning against her desk.

“Oh Vani, I didn’t know you were here,” she said in surprise rubbing at her cheeks.

“Rough day,” he asked moving to kneel in front of her.

She nodded slightly with a soft sniffle and told him what happened; she couldn’t tell what his reactions was but hoped he had an answer. Unfortunately all that she was met with was silence till he stood up saying he had to go for now but he would be back with some answers if possible. A few minutes later there was a soft knock at her door and it opened to reveal her brother.

“Hey Mimi, you feeling a little better,” Ventus asked with a soft smile as he walked in and brushed the tear stains from her cheeks.

“Kinda,” she spoke slightly, “how’d the exam go?”

“It…was good,” he said with a sigh, “Aqua passed and was declared a master….but Terra didn’t. The master said he needed to work on keeping the darkness at bay.”

“Is daddy okay,” she asked concerned

“Yeah, he just needs some space right now,” he said but he sounded distraught, “I just wanted to check on you, especially after what happened.”

“I think I’ll be okay but I’ll have to talk to grandpa…he usually explains everything for my understanding,” she said with a quick smile.

“Okay, if you need me though I’ll be in my room okay,” he said standing up, “I need to find something quick.”

She nodded, waiting till he left before looking out into the hallway; seeing no one around she headed towards the library when suddenly the bells started sounding. She remembered her mother saying that if they went off everyone had to meet in the grand hall; moving quick she ran back the direction she came and tried skidding to a stop once she reached her parents but ended up tripping and face-planting just a foot from where her parents stood.

“Mina! Are you alright,” Terra asking helping the girl and checking for injuries.

She tried speaking coherently but it sounded muffled to the older brunette so he turned to Aqua for help.

“She said she’s fine,” the bluenette answered casting a small cure on the girl.

Terra chuckled slight, he was still a little upset with himself about failing the test but he was more concerned about Mina. Setting her back on her feet, he had her stand between him and Aqua.

“Any idea what’s going,” Terra asked his friend as Mina held onto his hand.

“I’m not sure but where is Ven, he should have been here by now,” she replied looking around worried.

“He stopped by my room earlier and said he was going to grab something from his,” Mina piped up.

Master Eraqus came up to them saying his friend Yen Sid had informed him of a disturbance in the balance of the worlds; he then ordered Terra and Aqua to use the Lanes Between to hunt creatures of darkness called the Unversed who feed off negative emotion. Terra and Aqua bowed before their master and turned to leave; the master called to Terra telling him that this would be a second chance to change his mind saying that he would’ve made him master in a heartbeat if he could but that Terra mustn’t focus on winning with everything.

“Thank you master,” he said bowing in gratitude and turned to leave but he felt another hand grab his and turned to see Mina gripping it tightly.

“Please don’t go Daddy,” she begged sounding scared.

“Hey, what happened to my brave little star,” he said kneeling down to her height, “Aqua and I won’t be gone too long, but you have to stay here with Ventus and the master. I promise we’ll be home soon.”

She looked uncertain at first but then reached into her pocket and placed something small in his hand; when she pulled back, he was surprised to see it was the hand-made keyblade he gave her for her birthday.

“You have to keep this until you fulfill your promise and come home together,” she said with an innocent but serious tone.

“I promise Mina,” Terra responded and gave her a quick hug before heading out the doors.

However, neither she nor anyone else were expecting Ventus to run out the doors after him; Mina watched her grandpa and mom hurry out the door trying to stop him, but by the time she had gotten outside all three of them were gone, leaving her and her grandpa alone.

“This does not bode well,” Eraqus said with a sigh leading the little girl back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed. Plz comment and kudos. suggestions are welcomed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will introduce the first world and a singular point that will relate to future stories.

About two days had passed since the others had left and Mina sat in the library with her daily reading assignment; she sighed flipping to the next page. Her grandpa was consulting with Yen Sid about the where the others were and told her he should be back within a couple hours.

“I hate being alone,” she mumbled closing the book and heading down the hall, stretching her arms with a yawn, “I kinda wish that I could be with my brother right now.”

While rubbing her tired eyes, an unseen, dark portal opened in front of her, letting her walk through like a welcomed guest; she didn’t notice what had happened till she walked full-face into a tree and fell on her butt.

“Ow! Why is there a tree in the ha-!”

She stopped in mid-sentence finally seeing where exactly she was; no longer was she in the white halls of the castle but she found herself in a forest with white limbed trees and a creek to her right. Standing up, she brushed the dirt from her shorts and tried to find a path.

“Where exactly am I,” she wondered aloud heading towards what she believed was the west.

“What are you doing out here child,” an echoed female voice asked her.

The brunette turned to see a tall woman standing behind her; she wore a long, black dress with sleeves reaching to her wrists, her head was adorned with curved black horns, skin was a pale green-white color. In her hand was a black staff with a glowing sphere, and sitting atop it was a large raven that seemed to be giving her a judgmental glare.

“Um…I’m…I have no idea how I got here,” Mina admitted looking down at her feet.

“Don’t fret my dear child,” the woman said to her bending down to her height, “what is your name?”

“It’s Mina ma’am.”

“Mina…what a pretty name. I am the great sorceress Maleficent,” the woman said proudly, “now then, tell me, where do you come from?”

“From another….land,” she stated quickly, remembering that she couldn’t talk about her world.

“Intriguing, perhaps you’d like to come rest in my castle,” the witch offered with a smirk, “I sense that there is a great power sleeping dormant within you. I could teach you some strong magic to protect yourself, since this land is new for you and you know not of the dangers.”

“I think I should be looking for my family,” Mina said looking over her shoulder, “they’ve probably noticed I’m missing.”

“Well I can’t leave a young girl like you alone,” Maleficent said smiling, “my castle is along the travel path so anyone would stop by, even perhaps your family.”

“Hmmm….you have a point, but you have to make me a deal,” she said looking up at her.

“Oh? And what would that entail,” Maleficent asked intrigued.

“I’ll go with you, and I kinda do want to learn more magic but you have to swear that you will never harm me with your own magic or you’ll have to do what I say without question,” she said with a smirk, but serious attitude.

“My, what a sneaky offer, but I shall accept,” the witch smiled shaking the young girl’s hand to seal the agreement, knowing that this deal wouldn’t back fire.

Mina knew that she shouldn’t be traveling with this woman, especially with the aura she sensed around her, but she didn’t want to run into any of the dark creatures her grandpa had mentioned. She followed Maleficent closely not wanting to get lost and soon found herself walking up a cragged path leading to a stone castle that sat on a jagged cliff. Upon entering she saw Maleficent’s guards which looked like anthropomorphic pigs and weasels from the looks of them.

The castle itself was worn and seemed to be falling apart in certain areas, but then they entered what she believed to be the throne room. She was so deep in thought looking at her surroundings that she barely noticed Maleficent taking something from her staff and placing it in a locked, dark magic barrier at the end of the room.

“What’s that miss,” she asked curiously.

“It is a heart my child, a pure heart of light,” the witch answered, hiding a dark smile, “I took it to keep it safe from those who want to harm it.”

Mina could sense that she was twisting the truth about it, but she let it go to avoid conflict and figured that she could come back later to figure out what was really going on. Maleficent then lead her to a large library holding many spell books of different sizes and levels of magic. She showed her different forms of summoning magic and morphing magic; although it was only a few hours, Mina learned quite a bit from the dark fairy. Sometime later Maleficent had gone to check on something, leaving the young girl to wander the halls; she soon found herself back in the main hall staring up at the heart floating in its cage.

“I get the feeling you don’t want to be here huh,” Mina randomly asked the orb.

Something spoke in the back of her mind like a quiet response saying ‘yes’; she looked about the room confused and startled.

_‘Please help me…’_

She looked up at the heart shocked, realizing it was the voice that was coming from there.

“Who are you,” she asked it.

_‘My name is Aurora, I am princess in this land.’_

“A real princess,” she asked excitedly, “that is so co-… wait, what happened to you?”

_‘the dark fairy Maleficent placed a death curse on me when I was but an infant, but one of the good fairies turned it so that I would only be in a deep sleep till I was awakened by true love’s kiss.’_

“That sounds scary, but romantic in the end,” she admitted, “how did she get your heart?”

_‘She took control of a young man’s heart. He had a strange key shaped weapon that summoned my heart from my body. When she released him, he was distraught and tried to get my heart back but Maleficent summoned a dark creature to attack him and she escaped.’_

‘That sounds like it could’ve been Ven or Daddy,’ Mina thought to herself.

_‘Are you a prisoner here too young girl?’_

“My name’s Mina and no I’m not, I followed Maleficent here because I was lost in the forest but now I have to get out of here.”

_‘There should be a hidden passage on the north wall. The guards talked about it when they walked by here.’_

“Okay I’ll look there, but first I’m going to get you back home,” Mina said reaching up to grab the orb.

_‘Wait!’_

“Mina stop!”

The surprise of hearing a familiar voice made her jump, but it caused her hand thrust right into the cage; the shock sent her body into recoil making her scream in pain. She collapsed to the ground crying as she held her arm; threads of darkness coiled around it like snake. She barely felt the pair of arms wrap around her but when she finally looked up she saw her big brother; his eyes held great fear and concern as he examined her arm, probably trying to figure out how to fix it.

“Let us take a look at it my dear,” a gentle voice said.

Mina looked up and saw three elder women dressed in different colored matching outfits.

“A-Are you the three good fairies,” she asked in a shaky voice.

“Yes dearie,” the green robed fairy spoke, placing a hand gently on her forehead, “my name is Fauna, and this is Flora and Merriweather.”

“Young man, please go free the princess’ heart, we shall tend to this young girl,” the fairy in the pink robes spoke.

Ven was really hesitant about leaving Mina’s side but the blue fairy finally pushed him to his feet and dragged him over to the heart.

“Merriweather please be patient with him,” Flora shouted at her.

Meanwhile, Fauna was consoling the shaking girl and trying to use a healing spell; what worried her though was that even though the dark coils seem to fade it was more like they were being absorbed into Mina’s body.

“Is she alright,” Ven said in a panicked voice running over.

“Oh…yes she is just resting,” Fauna replied trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Ventus held his little sister in his arms, wondering how in the name of Kingdom Hearts she had ended up in this world. A shout from the halls broke his thoughts and he got to his feet in a defensive stance.

“Can you watch over my sister for me,” he asked the fairies.

When they gave their word to protect her, he ran off to fight the guards coming their way and to confront the dark fairy why she had Mina. While he was, the fairies hardly noticed a masked figure coming behind them; he attacked them with a fire spell and ran off with the unconscious girl in his arms through a dark portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the deal with Maleficent is something that will play later in years of the story. if you have questions please dm me on my profile. kudos are welcomed!


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